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Early Tuesday morning in a Paris suburb, a group of masked intruders attempted to kidnap the grandson and the pregnant daughter of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat. The woman and her child were rescued by Pierre’s son-in-law and neighbors.
The daughter’s husband, however, was said to be covered in blood after the brutal fight. This is one among a spate of brutal kidnappings that have been targeting crypto investors and entrepreneurs.
Crypto owners have long been victimized by online theft. To protect their holdings from hacks, many moved funds offline. But criminals have evolved. They now employ brutal ‘wrench attacks’ in which they threaten victims with blunt violence to extort crypto payments. Victims have even been pistol-whipped or had their fingers chopped off to extort Bitcoin or Tether transfers.
While Bitcoin prices have increased significantly by more than 50 per cent in the past year, the number of targets is on the rise. France has seen a minimum of five crypto abductions in recent times. Ledger co-founder David Balland and his partner were kidnapped at gunpoint in January. The attackers asked for €10 million and amputated the fingers of Balland to demonstrate that they were serious.
Social media boasting and data breaches render crypto owners sitting ducks. The 2020 Ledger breach spilled thousands of customer names and addresses. Additional hacks at Kroll and Coinbase contributed to the release of sensitive data. On the heels of some leaked databases, a small error in following an executive took place.
Also Read: Tron DAO X Account Hacked: $45K Lost in Crypto Scam, Curve Finance Also Hit
In the words of Alexandre Stachtchenko, strategy director at Paymium, recent EU regulations are ‘a ticking bomb.’ He explains, “It requires the platform to record the detail level of the person’s personal information during a transfer in cryptocurrency.” Stachtchenko fears that should these databases be hacked, criminals will soon discover who owns crypto and where they reside.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau sat down with crypto chiefs to talk of new security protocols. Police believe gangs hire young criminals remotely through encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram. Still, the attacks persist. Recently, the father of a Malta-based crypto executive was kidnapped and had a finger clip off on camera.
In the US, Coinbase revealed that criminals bribed insiders to steal digital assets. Instead of paying the ransom, Coinbase alerted regulators and plans to reimburse victims with up to $400 million.
New EU anti-money laundering regulations now oblige crypto platforms to obtain beneficiary names, addresses, and wallet information. The laws are designed to prevent money laundering and drug trafficking. But according to experts, they can put crypto users at risk of bodily harm if information leaks or is stolen.
Security expert Jameson Lopp has stated, “If you are high-profile in crypto, the threat now comes to your front door.” Since 2014, he has monitored more than 200 physical assaults on crypto owners.
The greater the value of crypto assets, the more violent the threats become. The sector is confronted with an essential challenge: safeguarding users while preserving anonymity and security.
